Caprione crime family
The Caprione Family '('Pronounced KAP-REE-OWN) is an Italian-American Mafia (La Cosa Nostra) organized crime family based in Miami, Florida. It was formed in 1922 by Giacomo "Jackie Horns" Caprione, the great-grandfather of current boss, Robert Caprione. History 'Origin' In sometime in the winter in 1918, an Italian immigrant from Sicily named Giacomo Caprione formed a gang of street thugs in what is now Coral Way with some of his friends who were also immigrants. These people included Gaspare Puletti, Angelo Verazo, Michele DiBrano, Vincent Colieri, Josephino Asatto, and Pasquale Gurrente. After pulling small-time jobs like truck thefts and car-jackings, Caprione formed alliances with 3 other Italian-American street groups with the promise of high-up positions and steady profits if Caprione was in charge. In 1922, the 4 groups (of about 55 members) formed the Caprione Crime Family with Caprione as the boss, Puletti as the consigliere, and Mario Vessari as the underboss. The family specified in thefts, murders, burglaries, smugglings, gambling, and extortion. The family started to get in touch and do business with gangs in surrounding cities and even some in surrounding states. Overall in its first three decades, under Giacomo Caprione, it fared well with other gangs. 'The Caprione Power War' See: Caprione Power War In 1938, a capo named John DeVano questioned Caprione's authority and started talking behind his back. Carlo Traza, a soldier who talked to DeVano frequently, informed Caprione about this. Caprione had a sitdown with DeVano trying to sort the dispute, but after DeVano tried to control Caprione's rackets and conspired to kill Caprione, Caprione had him killed. On October 11, 1938, John DeVano was killed outside of his home by two gunmen. Afterwards, two notable capos Francis Ciccone and Ignacio Fucilli joined up with about 30 soldiers and Capriones consigliere to kill Caprione, which led to a two year-long war which left 14 members dead. 'Death of Giacomo Caprione and power vacuum' On July 8, 1959, Giacomo Antonio Caprione died of a heart attack at Miami Valley Hospital. Family, friends, and mafiosi were devastated, but at the same time terrified. Since Caprione had been leader for so long and led the family into a stable, powerful criminal organization, many thought that it would now go under, as no one had the capability to maintain the power once showed by Giacomo Caprione. There was rumor that Joseph "Joey" Francisco, the family's consigliere was going to try to become boss. Joseph was a formerly a captain before being promoted. When he was a captain however, he could not control his crew of soldiers, which other members took note of. Since he felt that he was already the boss of the family, Francisco "demoted" captain John LoCosta, who was competing for the spot of boss. Seeing that he was obviously not a good nominee for boss, underboss Rocco Russafino ordered his murder. Sometime in October 1959, Francisco entered the backseat of his car when his driver, Cristofano Revice turned around and shot him three times in the head. The body was then disposed of. Although Russafino was on LoCosta's side, John LoCosta was seen as power-hungry and ruthless. Two Caprione capos, Dominic Ederbe and Peter Corrado were trying to take power. Both were seen by other members as good captains and would probably become good leaders. The supposed plan was that Corrado would become boss, and Ederbe would become consigliere. Seeing this, John LoCosta ordered three of his soldiers, Antonino Galante, Bernard Conelli, and George Caccaro to perpetrate the hits on the two captains. Although the three agreed with Ederbe and Corrado's plan to take over, they had to follow LoCosta's orders. On November 23, 1959 Ederbe and Corrado met at Corrado's home to discuss their plan further. Galante, Horrocio, and Caccaro threw molotov cocktails threw an open window of Corrado's house, killing Ederbe, Corrado, and Corrado's wife Juliana. It was after this hit, that Russafino and Cristofano Pola (the new consigliere after Joseph Francisco's death) saw that LoCosta had to be stopped before he caused another civil war. Russafino and Pola summoned an Sicilian hitman named Gino Palantis to kill LoCosta. On January 2, 1960 captain Philip Domina and soldier Andrew Catuso (who later turned informant) met with LoCosta at Domina's bar 5 hours it opened. Domina sat LoCosta down and told him that he wanted him to meet someone. It was then that Gino Palantis came out from the backroom and shook LoCosta's hand. LoCosta then turned around and started talking to Domina. It was then that Palantis pulled out a hangun and shot LoCosta once in his temple. The three then took an hour and a half, according to Catuso's testimony, to cut up Domina's body, clean the blood with peroxide, and dump the remains, which were wrapped up in a tarp, in a hole. It was after this murder, in March 1960 that Rocco Russafino was took the position of boss. 'Russafino regime' When it was finally decided that Rocco Russafino would rule in 1962, the Caprione controlled the south-part of the city of Tampa. This would generate about $870,000 (about $6,000,000 in today's value of the U.S. dollar) over the next two years. It was during this time, that the family came into contact with a smart and wealthy thief named Charles Suartieri. Suartieri would later became a capo in the family. It was also during this time that Russafino was charged for one count of assault and one count of attempted murder, and was brought to court. The trial went on for about five months, and a powerful captain named Salvatore "Big Boomer" Teleme was put into the position as acting boss because even though Russafino was free and could still rule and control, he felled he had enough to deal with. Two witnesses eventually bailed when they learned of Russafino's position in the Florida underworld. The case was dismissed. Russafino brought new gambling rackets and other low-level easily intimidated business into the question, boasting new business operations for the family. Once business was a pizzeria called Gennaro's Pizza. After extorting the pizzeria (and mos businesses on the same street) under the pretense of security and protection, Russafino and his colleges became friendly with the owner, David Zacardo. In about 2 months of extorting the business, Russafino, Cristofano Pola, David D'Aforo and other Caprione family members were doing business out of the back room. The family would sneak in guns from Italy in the same truck as the delivered cheese, which would come every week. Although Zacardo did not want this, he was under a contract with the family. After Russafino's death in 1964 from kidney failure, the family stopped using the restaurant as a front. 'Iaducci indictments' In 1984, a trusted soldier who was on his way to become a capo, named David Iaducci was arrested on drug charges which, if he was convicted, could land him twenty five years in prison. Iaducci was only 31 years old, and his wife was pregnant with his baby. Seeing that his family could not remain stable if he went to jail, and that the mob would also ridicule him for dealing with drugs, which was forbidden in the Caprione family, Iaducci agreed to testify against members of the family and enter WITSEC for the sake of his family. On August 12, 1984 David Iaducci stood on the witness stand and caused the conviction of thirty eight mobsters (including Vincent Belgino, Philip Nestra, and Peter Orvo, who were the administrative leaders of the family). He also revealed many position of mafiosi in the family. Iaducci only served two years in prison and moved with family to Houston, Texas under the name Daniel Fischer. In 1990, Iaducci was found dead outside of his house with multiple gun shots in his body and a dead rat taped in his mouth, proving that it was done by mobsters to signify that he was a rat. 'Lisona regime and uprise' After the indictments and Nestra's arrest, the family agreed to appoint John "Ginny" Lisona as the new boss. Lisona, who was 48 at the time of his appointment of boss, was a trusted capo who was going to be promoted to underboss after Peter Orvo (who was arrested during the indictments) was scheduled to retire. The boss quickly got to work controlling gambling rackets, and a new method of mail fraud. He was supposedly trying to get the family out of the number two spot of powerful families in Florida, and to get it in first. Lisona was seen as a ruthless and violent boss, as he usually murdered anyone that conflicted with him. This brought to attention when the Irish-American street gang The Irish Hand was formed.Considering the families power, the Hand wished to form an alliance. Lisona tried to extort Irish Hand leader Braiden McCollen for protection for the whole gang. When McCollen declined the offer, Lisona had him killed by Thomas Nolli, a hitman and soldier for the family. This put heat between the two organizations. Lisona did well as a powerful, feared and wealthy mob boss though. He assigned two soldiers, Benito Vatini and Dominic DeMoco to attend training for the Miami Police Department to infiltrate the institution. The two got the jobs and fed information every week to Lisona, who would bend his operations so that authorities could not stick charges on him. After four years of the operation, Lisona pulled the two out of the operation. Seeing as they were used to their full ability, and that the operation was over, Lisona had the two killed, so that they could not possibly testify against anyone in the case of indictments. 'Conflict with Robert Caprione' Lisona was not seen as a proper leader in the eyes of Robert Caprione, the great grandson of Giacomo Caprione. Caprione was a powerful capo who controlled a crew of about 20 soldiers and had 100 associates working and paying him. Caprione saw Lisona as power-hungry and that he didn't care for the well being of the family. Other capos and soldiers disagreed with Lisona also. The event that sent Caprione over the edge was the murder of Richard "Little Richie" Evoso. Evoso was Robert Caprione's godson, who owed $4,000 to John Lisona. Evoso was reminded many times to pay his dues, and Caprione even told him to pay up to avoid fatal consequences. Caprione then went to Lisona to talk about Evoso's payments. They agreed to give Evoso one more week to get the money, as he had already gave Lisona $3,000. Evoso told Lisona ahead of time that he would have the money in two weeks, which Lisona said was alright. Although at the one week mark, when Lisona knew that Evoso didn't have the money, he sent two soldiers to kill Evoso. Once Caprione learned of this, he was outraged. This combined with all the other flaws of Lisona's ruthless rule, contributed to his death. 'Death of John Lisona' After about two months of organizing the perfect hit, Caprione ordered the murder of Lisona. On August 12, 1996, John Lisona was found by his wife on the front lawn of their house, shot to death. Authorities observed that he had been shot 9 time, 2 headshots were the immediate cause of his death. 'Temporary success' With Robert Caprione as family boss, the family was able to enjoy some success. Caprione forced former family consigliere Giovanni "Clowny" Ragassi to step down after he started ruling, but instead of giving him his spot as a soldier, Ragassi was made a capo and given his own crew, which was made up of other soldiers from other crews. Caprione's childhood friend Guiseppe "Joe" Cici was made the consigliere. Underboss Frank Virri resumed his position after his one year sentence in 1997. 'Alphonse Trucchese' In 2009, Caprione soldier Charles "Chuckie" Spignolio introduced an associate of his to Robert Caprione. The man's name was Alphonse Trucchese. His real identity was that of David J. Sarasoto, an FBI agent sent to infiltrate the Florida Mob. Sarasoto started hanging around a bar owned by Caprione capo Salvatore Tussrio called The Nest. It was here that Sarasota met soldiers Charles "Chuckie" Spignolio, John "John Nav" Nave, Samuel "Sonny" Graziano, George Sambieri, and John "Johnny Camp" Cambiciano. Sarasota was included in their clique and was soon vouched for. After five months, the FBI found out that Sarasoto's mission was compromised, so they pulled him out. A week later, Sarasoto went missing from his home in Savannah, Georgia. Authorities feel that Grossio members helped out with the disappearance. 'Castellammare turns informant' In May 2014, New York capo William "Willie the Hair" Castellammare was arrested on a murder charge which would land the 58 year old mobster a possible life sentence. Looking at the odds, Castellammare agreed to turn state's evidence. Castellammare implicated Caprione in four murders, extortion, and fraud. He also gave information about murders that he himself commited. On August 14, 2014, Robert Caprione was charged with the 1982 murder of Justin Volpe, the 1992 murder of Federico "Fred" Rizzi , the 1993 murder of Vincent "Benny" Gavallino, and the 1996 murder of boss John "Ginny" Lisona. Caprione was sentenced to life in prison. Current position Since Robert Caprione's life sentence, consigliere Giuseppe Cici has been running operations as acting boss. The spot of consigliere has since remained vacant. In recent years, the family has taken a heavy blow. Longtime captains Carl Jacobo Jr. and Leo Vonanno passed away, both in 2015. Frank Virri Sr., underboss for almost 30 years, suffered a fatal stroke in 2016. It is unknown who takes the spot of underboss. As of 2018, the family is a lot smaller and weaker than they were decades before, with around 20-30 active members. Current Leadership Administration: *Boss: Robert "The Author" Caprione - The great-grandson of namesake boss and family founder Giacomo Caprione, Caprione is also the son of former capo Lawrence Caprione. In 1991, Caprione was charged with extortion and served two years in prison. In 1993, after his release Caprione was made a capo. Caprione was imprisoned in 2014 on murder charges and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 25 years. According to FBI, he is still leading the family from prison. * Acting Boss: Giuseppe "Joe" Cici * Underboss: *Consigliere: Capos: Florida Faction: *Cesare Grocche - capo and childhood friend of Robert Caprione. *John "The Little Guy" Luzone - capo. New York Faction: *Raymond "Ray" Bonomo Historical Leadership 'Boss:' *Giacomo "Jackie Horns" Caprione (1922 - 1959) (imprisoned 1930 - 1933) (hospitalized 1938 - early 1939) (imprisoned 1940 - 1950) (died of a heart attack) * Acting Boss: Francis DiSelatore (1930 - 1933) **''Acting Boss: Francis DiSelatore (1938 - 1939)'' **''Acting Boss: Fillipo "Philly Boy" Prosto (1940 - 1941) (imprisoned)'' ***''Acting Boss: Samuel "Sammy" Battista (1941 - 1948) (imprisoned)'' ****''Acting Boss: Rocco "Roddy" Russafino (1948 - 1950)'' *Rocco "Roddy" Russafino (1960 - 1964) (Brought into court in 1962) (died of kidney failure) **Acting Boss: Salvatore "Big Boomer" Teleme (1962) *Paolo Ostevago (1964) (forced to step down) *Salvatore "Big Boomer" Telemme (1964 - 1977) (imprisoned 1971 - 1974) (fled) **''Acting Boss: Michael Virite (1971 - 1974)'' *Vincent "Vinnie" Belgino (1978 - 1984) (Life Imprisonment) *John "Ginny" Lisona (1992 - 1996) (murdered) *Robert "The Author" Caprione (1996 - present) (imprisoned 2001 - 2002) (sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014) **''Acting Boss: Niccolo Coscapola (2001 - 2002)'' **''Acting Boss: Giuseppe "Joe" Cici (2014 - present)'' Street Boss: The position of street boss has periodically replaced the underboss and consigliere positions, allowing an imprisoned boss better control of the family. * Michael Virite (1984 - 1986) (imprisoned) * John "Ginny" Lisona (1986 - 1992) (became boss) * Pietro "Pepe" Sclfano (1992 - 2007) (natural causes) * Anthony "Tony Grim" Grimino (2007 - 2012) (retired) 'Underboss:' *Mario Vessari (1922 - 1929) (stepped down) *Alfonso "Al" Accardi (1929 - 1930) (murdered) *Nicodemo "Neil" Sfraldi (1930 - 1948) (Life Imprisonment) *Rino "Jackie Jr." Caprione (1948 - 1950) (murdered) *Rocco "Roddy" Russafino (1950 - 1960) (promoted to boss) *David D'Aforo (1960 - 1964) (imprisoned 1963 - 1964) * Acting Underboss: Philip Nestra (1963 - 1964) *Luigi Coegerelli (1964 - 1972) (imprisoned) *Philip Nestra (1972 - 1984) (life imprisonment) *Eugene "Genie" Buschella (1984 - 1989) (retired) *Frank "Frankie" Virri Sr. (1989 - 2016) (imprisoned 1994) (imprisoned 1997 - 1998) (died in 2016) ** Acting Underboss: Guiseppe "Zep" Accelandi (1994) (1997-1998) 'Consigliere:' *Gaspare "Gus" Puletti (1922 - 1939) (murdered) *Michele DiBrano (1939 - 1940) (imprisoned) *Anthony "Tony" Gaddo (1940 - 1945) (imprisoned) *Gino "The Fat Hen" Merlone (1945 - 1950) (retired) *Silvio "Goose" Veranzano (1950 - 1958) (imprisoned 1953-1958) (died of cancer) **''Acting Consigliere: Joseph "Joey" Francisco (1953 - 1958)'' *Joseph "Joey" Francisco (1958 - 1959) (murdered) *Cristofano "Fanny" Pola (1959 - 1970) (Comatose in 1968, came out later that year) (retired) **''Acting Consigliere: Gaetano "Gary" Envoila (1968)'' *Peter Orvo (1970 - 1984) (Life Imprisonment) *Louis "Lucy The Big Seat" Ginore (1984 - 1990) (Life Imprisonment) *Alphonse "Stubbs" DeSanto (1990 - 1992) (stepped down) *Giovanni "Clowny" Ragassi (1992 - 1996) (forced to step down) *Guiseppe "Joe" Cici (1996 - 2014) (became acting boss) Government Informants/Witnesses * 'William "Willie the Hair" Castellammare '- New York faction capo who was indicted on a federal murder charge in 2014. Castellammare began cooperating with authorities and agreed to testify to avoid a life sentence. * 'John Draccone '- Draccone, a soldier, began cooperating with authorities in 1982. * 'David Iaducci '- Tampa soldier who was indicted on drug charges in 1984 * 'Walter "Walt the Gentleman" Orrelani '- capo who became an informant in 1994 after his arrest for two gangland murders.